Flight Test
by Stupid computer
Summary: Sometimes things can go very, very wrong. Even in the simplest of flight tests.
1. Otto

It seemed that nothing could ever go as planned. Outer space is very vast and holds mysteries beyond our own comprehensions. There are even thoughts that are beyond our realm of understanding. With all the things unknown maybe it is better for things to go unplanned; just to let fate take its course as a few monkeys and a boy are about to learn when they go on a simple test flight.

XXXX

The super robot was flying out of control. All systems were shutting down, not even the lights were working properly. It was chaos in the control rooms. Electric sparks were flying everywhere and the monkey team was hopelessly trying to get systems back online.

"Gibson, you go with Sprx to the fist rockets and try to maintain altitude! Otto, go to the engine room and try to keep the robot from overheating! Antauri, Nova, and I will go to the main controls! Let's go monkey team!" Chiro yelled out, panic in his voice.

Everything was a blur as they went to try to fix the unknown problem. They couldn't lose power in the middle of space with no planets nearby. They had been in bad situations before but that still didn't mean that the team liked to be in them. Gibson and Sprx were having trouble controlling the fist rockets when the robot gave a hard jerk.

"Gibson, Sprx; what's our state?" Chiro yelled into his communicator.

"Severely uncontrollable! I estimate we'll lose total control in fifteen minutes or so!" Gibson answered, trying and failing to keep calm.

"Is it just me, or does Brain Pain always tell us what we don't want to hear? I mean-"

"Sprx, this is no time for joking around. Otto, how are things in the engine room?" Antauri interrupted hastily.

There was no reply to his question however. The only thing that got picked up was static. It was at this time that the robot violently pulled to the left and the lights went off. Nova and Antauri turned on their night vision to see.

"All systems are off!" Nova called out from the darkness.

"Gibson, Sprx, Otto come to the main controls!" But all Chiro got was silence.

It might have been a few minutes or a few hours before Chiro, Nova, and Antauri heard a noise. Time follows different rules in the dark silence. The noise was a slow scraping echo bouncing off the silent walls followed by a loud bang and the sound of tearing metal.

"BOOM BOOM WAKE UP!" Nova suddenly attacked as she saw a shadow out of the corner of her eyes.

"Owch! Is punching things your answer to everything?!"

"Sprx?" Nova asked the shadow as it was coming into view.

"Yeah! That really hurt you know. The elevators weren't working so me and Gibson had to tear down the tubes!" Sprx explained.

"Gibson and I is the correct term Sprx." Gibson said matter of factually.

"Is everyone here?" Chiro asked.

"We still haven't heard form Otto, Chiro. All I got was static." Antauri, the usually calm monkey, sounded slightly worried.

"I'm going to look for him!" Gibson said quickly.

It was at that point that the backup lights came on. Otto walked into the room looking slightly dazed. Gibson rushed over to him to check if he was alright instinctively as a doctor. Otto had a small trickle of blood coming from under his helmet and his optical orb was cracked.

"Otto, what happened?!"

"It's not that bad, just didn't look where I was going that's all. Ran right into the light controllers. I wasn't able to do much else but bring the backup lights on." Otto sighed heavily.

"Alright team. We're going to have to see if we can send out a distress signal with what little power we have. Let's-" Chiro was interrupted by the super robot crashing into something.

"Egad, I thought that there were no planets in this part of the solar system!" Gibson exclaimed, puzzled by the sudden crash.

"Yeah, Brainiac. You also said that it was a good condition to take a test flight today with the new rocket boosters. Now, how's that working out for us?"

"Shut it Sparky. We are in no position to fight! We happened upon a planet, let's see if there is some one here who can help us!"

"I agree with Gibson. It is critical that we fix the robot as soon as possible. Gibson, you stay behind with Otto and fix him up."

"Aw, but Antauri, I'm not that hurt. Besides, what if they have better doctors here?" Otto complained. Gibson gave a small humph of annoyance at Otto indicating that there were better doctors than him.

Antauri sighed along with Chiro as he indicated for Otto to come along. Otto smiled and went along with the rest of the team. It took a good amount of time to get out of the damaged robot. They finally found an opening on the side of the robot. Once they were all out they noticed something odd.

"Hey guys, look! We don't need to fix the robot, there's another one here!"

"Otto that's ridicu-my dear he's right."

The entire team looked up in astonishment. In front of them stood an exact replica of the super robot. It was at this point that they also saw hundreds of people surrounding them. Each one of them was staring in fear. Children were hiding behind their mothers and fathers. They wore strange clothes; all black, brown, red, and white.

"It's the Midnight Lord and his Copies! Quickly, get the leader!" A man cried out in panic.

"What? Listen we don't want any trouble. Our robot crashed and we-"

"Hold your tongue sperm of nothing! What right do you have to speak? How dare you try to escape your imprisonment!" The same man called out.

Chiro was confused, along with the rest of the team.

"Listen, just give us a few supplies to fix our robot and we'll be out of your way."

The crowd suddenly split. A cloaked figure walked past the people silently.

"Leo, I told you no more pranks! Not every visitor is the Midnight Lord! And you know as well as I do that the Copies are all dead! What makes you thi…oh my. This…this is not good."

The monkey team stared at the man in front of them for he was not a man at all. He was a monkey. A robotic monkey. With green fur.

"Hello. My name is Otto. I think we both have a lot to explain."


	2. Gibs

"B-but you can't be Otto! I'm Otto!"

Gibson tried to call the green simian and placed a hand on his shoulders. The other monkey who claimed to be Otto turned his back, robe making a swishing noise on the dirt ground. He motioned with his hand for the team to follow him.

"Come with me. Now." He said quietly before walking off.

"Antauri, what should we do?" Chiro asked.

"I best hope is to follow Chiro. We need explanations and it is possible we will never get them unless we do what these people tell us to do." Antauri replied, for once at a loss with the situation.

The monkey team ran to catch up with the other Otto with great reluctance. Gibson kept his hand on Otto the entire time. The green monkey was chattering away nervously. The team walked through a town that was quite strange. It was like a time machine; old buildings new technology. Everything was covered in brick or silver or brass. It wasn't long before they reached a tall mansion in the middle of the town. It was large and Victorian looking, something the monkey team had only ever seen in their planets museums.

"Come this way." The other Otto said, something about his voice was unsettling.

The inside of the house was even more wonderful than the out side. Chandeliers hung from the celling, spreading bronze light over the brick entrance room. Somewhere in the house music was playing. A fireplace was blazing on the far side of the room. The rest of the room was littered with sofas and chairs. While the team was distracted by this sight, the other Otto moved swiftly towards Gibson. He twisted his arms around and drew out a dagger, pressing it tight to Gibson's throat before he could even make a noise.

"What are you doing?!" Chiro cried out.

"Put him down!" Nova yelled, activating her fists. The other Otto only pushed the blade tighter to Gibson.

The team could do nothing. They brought out their weapons and stood there in silence, waiting for the other Otto to put down their friend.

"We don't have it Mister Hal. How many times must I tell you this? I let you live you scum. How did you ever escape!? Tell me!" The other Otto loosened the pressure on the blade slightly, giving Gibson enough air to talk.

"I…I don't kn-know w-what you're talking about." Gibson wheezed out.

Unnoticed by to occupants in the room, the music had stopped. Foot steps echoed in the hallways and pounded down stairs. The monkey team saw the other Otto raise the blade; ready to strike Gibson. They only had one chance to attack before poor Gibson was dead. Just as they were about to move, a familiar voice broke in.

"OTTO! What are you doing to the poor thing!?" Everyone-including other Otto-turned around to see where the voice had come from.

Standing in the room was Gibson. Not the one about to be killed, but another Gibson. This Gibson wore clothes; a loosely fitting shirt and gray trousers. His fur was slightly ruffled and he was breathing heavily. The other Gibson walked across the room quickly and sloppily. Once he got to the other Otto, he gave his a good slap across the face.

"This is not any way to treat guests! Look at them all! His poor friends are frozen in panic and this poor little duck right here is shaking like a leaf!"

"But Gibs, he's-"

"No, he is not. Oh, you poor thing, are you alright? My name is Mister Hal Gibson but I prefer to go by Gibs. My, your neck is slightly swollen but he didn't draw blood. Good heavens you're cold as death. Come with me and we'll get you and your friends some warm hot chocolate." Gibs put his arms around Gibson and gave a death glare to the other Otto.

The rest of the team looked on in shock. Both Gibs and the other Otto were exactly like their Otto and Gibson…well they looked like them anyways. So far their actions were nothing like Gibson's and Otto's. Gibs seemed more cheerful and almost motherly. He even called Gibson duck and poor thing.

"Uhhh…what just happened?" Sprx asked voicing the entire teams' confusion.

"An explanation does seem to be in order." Antauri replied with his ghost claws still not lowered.

"Ah, yes of course. You see, I am Gibs and this is Otty."

"I've told you not to call me that." The other Otto replied.

"Yes, well we don't really have a choice now do we? What, do you just want our guests to go around calling after Otto number one and Otto number two? Besides, I think it's cute. Really, you must learn some manners." Gibs huffed out angrily.

"But Gibs, he's the Midnight Lord! Or he might be. I don't know, I just wasn't about to take any chances." Otty seemed nervous and disappointed to be scolded by Gibs.

"Otty, if he was midnight lord I would be the first to know. Trust me. And another thing-"

"Excuse me for a moment but what in blazes are you talking about?" Gibson asked, rubbing his neck and slowly inching towards his team who were also trying to get to him.

"Yes, yes that's right. All of you must be so very confused right now. You see, you have just landed in another dimension by some anomaly. I am the other Gibson and this is the other Otto. We are separate people but the same beings."

The team looked at the two replicas of their scientist and engineer with doubt

"Well then why in blazes did he try to kill me?" Gibson nearly yelled as he held an accusing finger at Otty.

"Well that…that's actually kind of a funny story really. You see, everyone here kind of…sort of…wants to kill us." Gibs said, trying to laugh off what he had just told Gibson.

"WHAT?!" The monkey team cried out. Otty rubbed his head and sighed.

"Gibs, go ahead and make some hot chocolate. We have a long night ahead of us.

XXXX

_Long ago, we were the heroes of this planet. We fought evil of all forms. No matter what enemy we faced, we always won. Until he showed up. The town's folk called him the Midnight Lord for his dark coat of fur and his passion for the darkness. He was my personal greatest enemy. To our team, he was Mister Hal. It is our understanding that this manifest of evil was a form of Gibson from another dimension. He was cruel and vicious, using his fellow team mates as his slaves. He wanted only one thing: The Grimiare of Necrosis. _

_You see, there are many dimensions that exist in the universe. Many different paths and versions of ourselves. But there is only one dimension that had the Grimiare. Mister Hal said that this dimension was the root of all others, that the Grimiare of Necrosis was the most powerful thing ever to have existed because unlike everything else, it was the only thing without a copy. _

_We tried to fight him off with little effect. Our people were not quite as well equipped with facts as we were. They thought that our Gibson-Gibs-was the Midnight Lord and Mister Hal used this to his advantage; making sure the people continued to believe it. He framed Gibs for the most horrid of crimes and no matter what we said, our people would not listen. We had only one choice; make them believe Gibs was dead._

_On our final battle, we trapped Mister Hal in a prison. It was a dimension of shadows. We had no other choice to trap his team with him as well. Our people called them the copies. They had been under the rule of Mister Hal for far too long and their minds were no longer their own. Once that was done, we put Gibs in a temporary coma. It was unlike an ordinary one. Like we had trapped Mister Hal physically in the shadow world, we had trapped Gibs mentally in it._

_There and only there his physical body could not feel pain or have the need to breath. So we brought back the body of Gibs to prove that he was trapped in death. After months of suspicion, the people accepted the death of their terror and gradually things went back to normal. After we were sure that it was safe, my team and I drew back Gibs's mind. Sadly there were consequences to this plan. Though we had saved our people and Gibs, things would never be the same. Gibs's mind had spent far too long in the shadow world and had become connected to Mister Hal. He was not in the realm long enough for Mister Hal to reach and control him, but part of Gibs's mind is and forever will be locked in a manifest of that world. He only returns to it on a blue moon when he dreams but when he does there is always a chance Mister Hal can find his mind and escape at least mentally through him._

_We keep a close eye on Gibs, our Nova and Sprx wander the galaxy looking for a cure. Chiro and Antauri travel our solar system, making sure there is no sign of Mister Hal's return. And I stay here with Gibs, keeping him safe from the villagers that might wander to near the house. As for Gibs himself; he has become domesticated. Refined to this house. The only thing he can do is try to find the one dimension that has the Grimiare. _

As Otty finished his story, Gibs look up from his chocolate drink and looked Gibson straight in the eye.

"And I do believe my search is over. I have found the Holder. The Holder of the Grimiare of Necrosis."


	3. Waiting

The team went silent at the words. They all stared at Gibs with eyes of confusion. The silence engulfed them for several minutes before Gibson spoke up.

"Are you saying that you think one of us is the holder for the Grimiare of Necrosis?"

Gibs shook his head, a smile playing on his lips.

"No Gibson. I don't _think_, I _know._ The holder is you Gibson." Gibs pause for a moment to take his double's hands, "I have waited so long for you. Now you're here. You have come to help our world…and to free me."

Gibson had not moved from Gibs' grip. The world around him tilted left and right. As Gibs had a look of hope, Gibson had a look of despair. His world was still tilting when he jolted from Gibs' grasp.

"No." Gibson nearly shouted as his fur stood on end.

The word rang through the building, echoing off the wall like a mantra. Each echo seemed to put more distance between Gibson and the rest of the world. He hardly saw the looks of fear and worry as he slipped away. The one word trapped itself in his mind

No.

No.

No.

While the world disappeared another voice joined in whispering into the darkness like a snake.

**_Yes._**

* * *

_I could feel his terror coursing through my brittle bones. He shook me with such power; power that I had not felt in a long time. The feeling was delicious. His thoughts were divine. Images of battles, friends, and family feed my hunger. But they were only the first course. I felt within him something deeper, something beyond fear. Wrath, pride, the hunger for power, and lust. I could barely lick my thoughts across these feeling but they were there. More importantly, they were powerful._

_Power is something that I lost a long time ago. I am in no rush to get it back. Good things come to those who wait as the saying goes. Although good things never come to me when I wait. Only the bad things come. Still, I wait. I shall wait for the good. I shall wait for my time to come once more. Then they will see. They will all see what it is like when the tables are turned. _

_So long as I wait._

**Sorry for the long wait and short chapter. Next one is going to be really long (It'll be split into two parts XD) so bear with me.**


	4. The Sand Man's Webs

Something sticky coated Gibson's fur when he awoke. He tried to look down at his chest but found that he couldn't move. His eyes darted around, trying to find something familiar. All that he could see was grey and black shapes. The shapes moved through the air like leaves on water. There was no substance in the shapes or anything else around him, only the lifeless shapes. Gibson wanted to panic, he knew that he should be panicking yet, for some reason he could not. His thoughts were dulled and muddle in a way that felt unnatural.

"Yes, that happens when you first come. Do not worry, your mind is just adjusting to its' new found freedom."

Gibson strained his eyes to see who spoke. From the dense mass of undefined shapes something solid emerged. Eight long legs strode across an invisible pathway while eight eyes blinked in sync. A round body swayed back and forth with fine silver hairs twisting around in a fine dance. The giant spider gracefully walked over to the stunned monkey. Gibson wanted to scream but when he opened his mouth no sound came out.

"Think the words. Talking is such a hard thing to accomplish outside of the physical world. Think Gibson. Once you speak through your mind the rest will come." The giant spider said.

Gibson stared at the spider for a long time, his mind drifting from numbness to fear. He couldn't focus his mind long enough to think a solid thought. He squirmed in his sticky binding in hopes that he could break the material. The spider laughed at his attempts.

"That wont help. You aren't really moving, you just _think _you are. Focus your thoughts to free yourself."

More time passed with Gibson trying to focus like the spider said. He tried to relax and grasp the tiny bit of him mind that wasn't frozen. He could feel his thoughts just out of his reach. Closing his eyes, Gibson remembered the last thing that happened. He was some where solid, somewhere without shapes or giant spiders. He was...he was...with his team.

"GAH!" Gibson's scream was swallowed up by the grey and black that surrounded him. Whatever was holding him had disappeared, allowing him to move.

"Very good! That was excellent." The giant spider said happily.

"You-YOU'RE A TALKING BUG! What, what was that? Who are you? _WHAT _are you? And where am I? What happened to the house and my team mates and Otto?!" Gibson was finally able to panic, his thoughts free of the numbing spell.

"I am aware of the fact that I am a bug. And what you just experienced was a mental dimension shift."

"What in blazes is that?" Gibson asked, still wary of the talking arachnid.

"A mental dimension shift is what happens when your mind enters a different dimension without your body, just as your mind did when your mind traveled here to the astral plain. You were having trouble with your thoughts because they no longer had something to contain them."

"My mind...entered a different dimension? That's logically impossible!"

"There is no such thing as logic here, Gibson. Everything here is relative."

A few grey blobs flew around the arachnid's head. Voices drifted from them like echos. For a moment they formed vague shapes before dissipating.

"What are those mister...umm-" Gibson turned his attention to the giant spider.

"Sand Man. I am known as the Sand Man. I spin dreams with my silver silk and those were a few of my finished dream orbs."

Sand Man lifted one of his legs and gently touched the grey dream orb. The grey mass shifted form, growing long legs and a reptilian tail as horns spouted from a elongated snout.

"Amazing!" Gibson gasped as he watched the dream orb transform into a detailed dragon.

"Thank you. Now come, we should be going." Sand Man said as he started to walk away.

"Go? Where?" Gibson inquired.

"Where we need to go."

"I can't. The dragon was beautiful and the possibilities in this place are wondrous but I must be getting back to the physical world."

"Gibson, you can not go back. From the moment I saw you I knew you did not come here on your own. Another entity brought you to the astral plain. Until I can figure out what that entity is, you may not go back."

* * *

"Gibson! Gibson! Why isn't he waking up? What's wrong with him?!" Otto frantically shook Gibson by his shoulders in a desperate attempt to wake him up.

"Otto, please stop. You could hurt him if you continue that." Gibs calmly pried Otto away from Gibson's unconscious body.

Nova and Chiro helped calm Otto down as Antauri tried to connect with Gibson mentally. Sprx sat beside him trying to help.

"It's no use. I am unable to connect to his mind." Antauri's face was grave as he said this.

"We must keep calm." Otty said, "Gibs and I shall take him to the laboratory to run tests."

"And what do you want us to do? Sit around like bumps on a long?" Sprx snapped, getting up close to Otty's face.

"Would you two hush? This is no time for arguing. I think it would be best for all of you to take a rest. I'll test Gibson alone." Gibs interrupted before a fight could break out.

After a few more sharp words, Otty showed the Hyper Force to the spare sleeping chambers. Gibs lifted Gibson and brought him into the lab. The room was cluttered with metal contraptions and odd items. Ruins were printed along the wooden boards along with strange herbs and glowing orbs. The sweet sent of jasmine wafted throughout the space, setting the tone for the cleared off a table and gently sat Gibson down on it. After he made sure the comatose monkey was secure he went about filling vials and starting up iron machines. As he was working cold, mental hands slipped around his waist.

"I thought I told you to go to bed hon."

"You need help." Otty replied, snatching the vile Gibs had in his hands and mixing a bright orange plant into the mixture.

The two worked swiftly, occasionally exchanging little bits of small talk. Two hours went by in the lab before the fist mixture was injected into Gibson; nothing happened. Gibs groaned, burying his head in his hands. Otty gently took Gibs' hands into his and pulled them from his face.

"It's going to be fine. We can fix this. He's going to be fine."

"I hope. After all these years I finally found him. I can't lose him Otty and neither can his friends."

Gibs traced his fingers over Gibson's face and then over his own. Two faces so alike that had experienced some many different things.

"When did it happen?" Gibs asked. Otty looked at him quizzically.

"When did what happen?"

"When did...when did I become so old?" Gibs had tears forming at the edges of his eyes.

Otty pulled him close to his chest, rubbing the small of Gibs' back. He had spent his best years in a house that was more like a prison. He had to wake Gibson up, not only for Gibs but for himself.


End file.
